Part 47

However, the Muslim inhabitants of al-Atharib refused to give in to the Crusaders, which forced Baldwin to retreat to Antioch and thence to Jerusalem.290 Suppression of the rebellion As soon as Najm ad-Deen Ilghazi heard of his son's insubordination in Aleppo, he came quickly and punished those who were behind his son's disobedience. When Sulayman saw the severe punishment that befell his supporters, he feared for his life and fled to Damascus, where he asked Tughtigin for asylum. Once Ilghazi had suppressed the rebellion in Aleppo, he put his nephew Badr ad-Dawlah Sulayman ibn 'Abdul-Jabbar ibn Artuq in charge of the city and formed a new truce with the Crusaders for a whole year. Ilghazi's aim in forming this truce with the Crusaders was to get enough time to go back to Diyarbakir and gather as many troops as possible so that he could return to fight the Crusaders, in addition to the fact that he feared the Crusaders might attack Aleppo and his nephew might not be able to offer any resistance.291 In Mardin, Najm ad-Deen Ilghazi managed to gather a large number of Turkmens, then he took them to Syria in Rabee' II516 AH/1122 CE, taking advantage of the split that occurred between Baldwin King of Jerusalem and Pons of Tripoli. Najm ad-Deen Ilghazi was unable to achieve a decisive victory over the Crusaders, despite the fact that he was joined by Balak ibn Bahram ibn Artuq and Dhaheer ad-Deen Tughtigin, but the Crusaders were unable to spread their influence and domination to Aleppo, either.292 The death of Ilghazi and its effect on the Muslims In Ramadan 516 AH/1122 CE, Ilghazi felt that his health was deteriorating, so he went back to Mayafariqin (Silvan, in Turkey), where he died. A great a loss as the death of Najm ad-Deen Ilghazi was for the Muslims in Syria and Mesopotamia in general, the calamity was greater for the people of Aleppo, who were very saddened by his death, because Najm ad-Deen Ilghazi had dashed the Crusader leaders' hopes of capturing the city. The impact of Ilghazi's death went further; it led to the disintegration of his emirate as it was divided among his sons, Hussam ad-Deen Timurtash, who got Mardin and Sulayman, who got Mayafariqin. Aleppo remained the share of his nephew Sulayman ibn 'Abd al-Jabbar ibn Artuq, and Balak ibn Bahram ibn Artuq kept the citadel of Kharberd (Khartabart), to which Harran was added later on.293 In addition to that, Aleppo, which used to rely on the Turkmen troops who were mobilized by Ilghazi from northern Mesopotamia, lost this resource which had often tipped the balance in favour of the Muslims against the Crusaders at the time of Ilghazi. This made Aleppo more vulnerable to Crusader raids and weakened the position of its ruler Sulayman ibn 'Abd al-Jabbar, which made him unable to ward off the Crusaders. These latter took advantage of Ilghazi's death to raid Baza'ah and Balis, on the Euphrates, led by Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem. The matter did not end there, however: the Crusader King managed to capture the citadel of Bira (alBeerah), as a result of which Aleppo was now surrounded on all sides, forcing Sulayman ibn 'Abd al-Jabbar to make a peace deal with the Crusaders in 517 AH/1123 CE, in which he ceded the fortress of al-Atharib.294 Balak ibn Bahram ibn Artuq Balak ibn Bahram, ruler of the citadel of Kharberd took up the banner of Jihad after his paternal uncle Ilghazi, the ruler of Mardin, died. He was a stubborn opponent of the Crusaders and hoped to eliminate them not only from the region of Mesopotamia but also from Syria. His military action began during his uncle Ilghazi's illness in Raj ab 516 AH/1122 CE, with the siege of Edessa, but he did not manage to capture it despite a lengthy siege, and was forced to withdraw. Hence the Crusaders in Edessa thought that they had no option but to seek help from Joscelin, whose desire to capture more land was great and who was a stubborn opponent of the Muslims; at that time he was with King Baldwin in Bira, taking advantage of the dispersal of the troops of Balak ibn Bahram ibn Artuq, following his return from Edessa. Nevertheless, Balak ibn Bahram managed to lay a trap for Joscelin and those Crusaders with him in a muddy area that was saturated with rainfall, where their horses were unable to move quickly because of the mud. Balak and his men, who numbered no more than four hundred horsemen, sent showers of arrows upon them; few escaped. Joscelin and his maternal cousin, Galeran ruler of Bira, were captured in 516 AH/1122 CE. The outcome of this victory which was achieved by Balak ibn Bahram against the Crusaders was the loss of Crusader troops and morale in Syria, as well as an increase in Muslim enthusiasm and hopes of pouncing upon the Crusaders from all sides.295 Balak ibn Bahram ibn Artuq tried to negotiate a deal with Joscelin and his fellow Crusaders who had fallen captive whereby they would give up Edessa in return for their release, but they refused, saying, "We and the land are like camels; when a camel is killed, its saddle is transferred to another camel.